Newly elected mayors from across the country arrived in Cambridge yesterday for a four-day conference designed to help them make the switch from candidate to office-holder.

The conference, held at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, attracted about 20 mayors from cities ranging from Allentown, Pa., to Toledo, Ohio. Yesterday, the participants attended an opening seminar on "Managing Transition" led by Martha S. Wood, mayor of Winston-Salem, N.C.

"Hopefully they will learn about what to avoid in the transition process, and dangers and opportunities to be aware of," said Charles Royer, director of the Institute of Politics and former mayor of Seattle.

The participants will attend a series of workshops led by public policy experts and current and former mayors. But Royer said that participants will also learn from informal interactions.

"The mayors are spending a lot of time learning from each other," he said.

Yesterday's seminar was closed to the media. Mayor Richard Notte of Sterling Heights, Mich., said it emphasized the need to "keep your campaign promises." Notte said he found it "very interesting meeting with othermayors, exchanging and reviewing notes on majorurban problems."

Throughout their stay, the mayors will attendsuch workshops as "Jobs and Economic Development"and "Health and Social Service Delivery in The1990s."

Royer said the workshops will focus heavily onpublic safety and financial issues.

"We will also be focusing on the importance fora city of cooperating with other communities inthe region, urging an inclusive, regional approachto problem-solving," he said.

"What we're discussing are public policy issuesand the political experience we can expect to havein office," said John Destefano, mayor of NewHaven, Conn.

"We're talking with experts about what hasworked and what hasn't worked."

Roxanne Qualls, mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio said,"I hope to gain from the sessions a greaterunderstanding of the fundamental issuesconfronting cities, such as crime and the need fornew approaches to financing projects."

The United States Conference of Mayors and theInstitute of Politics sponsor the seminar, whichhas been held every year since 1975